Doctors are dangerously tired, and health care leaders aren ’t taking action

Do you want your surgeon to work back-to-back overnight 12-hour shifts and then perform brain surgery on you the next morning? There’s currently no regulation prohibiting this kind of dangerous scheduling in medicine. Physicians are human. Like truck drivers or airline pilots, their fatigue can lead to dangerous consequences for those around them. A recent study showed that even mild sleep deprivation causes the same levels of impairment as alcohol intoxication. Truckers and pilots have to comply with regulations forcing them to rest, however, and physicians do not. Medicine has not only had a long history of avoiding regulations on shift hours, but of also actively encouraging burnout-inducing work schedules, especially during medical training: Continue reading ... Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputation: A social media guide. Find out how.
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Physician Hospital-Based Medicine Residency Source Type: blogs